Sarawak / The State
Photo: Map of Sarawak
Sarawak is
the largest of the 13 states that make up Malaysia. Covering
an area of about 124,000 sq km, it stretches some 700 km
along the northwestern coast of Borneo (the third largest island
in the world) and is flanked by Kalimantan (Indonesia) in the
south, and Sabah and Brunei in the north.
Separated
from Peninsula Malaysia by the South China Sea, it has a warm
and equable climate, with an average annual temperature of
25.6 deg C. The rainy season or landas is between November and
February. The average annual rainfall is between 330 cm and 460
cm.
Sarawak's
history is colourful, filled with adventure, piracy, head-hunting
and romance. When English adventurer James Brooke arrived in 1839,
Sarawak was rebelling under the rule of the Brunei sultanate.
As a reward for the role he played in quelling the rebellion,
the Pengiran Mahkota of Brunei made Brooke the Rajah of Sarawak
in 1841. James was succeeded by his nephew Charles Brooke in 1868,
who, in turn was succeeded by his eldest son, Charles Vyner, in
1917.
During the
second World War, Sarawak was occupied by the Japanese forces,
but it was subsequently ceded to Britain after the war and became
a British Crown Colony. On 16th September 1963, Sarawak joined
the Federation of Malaysia, and today she observes a democratic
system of government.
Kuching
(pop. 306,000) is the economic and political centre of the state,
and was declared a city on 1st August, 1988. Miri, the
longest town, lies next to the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei.
It's economy
is largely dependent on its rich natural resources, particularly
oil, liquefied natural gas. (LNG), timber and the famous Sarawak
black and white pepper. Nevertheless, it is also a state developed
in agriculture, commerce, and industries. Apart from the petroleum
products and timber, other important exports are coconut oil,
rubber, palm oil, cocoa beans and urea. Its tourism industry is
growing and fulfilling its tremendous potential.
The Iban
forms the largest indigenous group, comprising 29.6% of the population,
while Chinese comprises 29.1%, Malay - 20.7% Bidayuh (formerly
known as Land Dayaks) - 8.4%, Melanau - 5.8%. Other indigenous
peoples of Sarawak fall under the orang ulu ethnic category and
make up a further 5.4% of the population.
Although
Islam is the official religion of the state, the people of Sarawak
enjoy religious freedom. Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism are
widely practised , while some forms of paganism still exists in
the rural interior.
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